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HMS Thunder Child II
The HMS Thunder Child II is a spiritual successor to the original HMS Thunder Child, an outdated Minotaur-class Ironclad Battleship captained by Captain Eric Wodensen, which was deployed into battle on May 4th during the first invasion of the Martians in 1899; successfully bringing down two Fighting Machines before been destroyed and sinking. The HMS Thunder Child II was captained by Eric Wodensen's son and was constructed by A.R.E.S alongside their own battlecruisers. The ship was said to have six times the armour and twenty times the firepower of the original ship - with that firepower including a variety of guns, cannons, sweepers and a large Heat Ray - similar to other A.R.E.S vehicles including the Achilles-Class Battle Tripods and Dreadnought-Class Battle Zeppelins. Due to its size and the various planes flying beside it, it may also have functioned as an aircraft carrier. While the ship did not appear in The War of the Worlds: Goliath, it appeared in the tie-in comic "The Captain" - one of several stories from the "Heavy Metal Magazine - War of the Worlds Special" Magazine released in Summer 2011. Information It's unbeknown when exactly the HMS Thunder Child II was built in the 15 years since the end of the first Martian Invasion in 1899, but it was constructed by A.R.E.S and constructed using a combination of human and reverse-engineered Martian technologies. It was vastly improved over its namesake - including possessing six times the armour and twenty times the firepower of the original ship; the firepower including a range of guns, cannons, sweepers and at least one large Heat Ray. The Captain of the ship was Captain Wodensen, the son of Captain Eric Wodensen - who captained the original HMS Thunder Child and was killed during the ship's battle with the Martian Tripods. Captain Eric Wodensen's portrait would later be hung inside the HMS Thunder Child II. During the Martian's second invasion attempt in 1914, the HMS Thunder Child II was stationed in Boston - likely to provide backup to the A.R.E.S forces resisting the Martian's attack on Montreal. However, it was later revealed that the Martian's attack on Montreal - along with their attacks on New Orleans and New Mexico - were all feint attacks; deliberately done to lure the majority of A.R.E.S' forces out of New York. With New York been the location of America's A.R.E.S headquarters, it made sense as - with A.R.E.S and their advanced weaponry out of the way - humanity would be easier to conquer. With this update, the HMS Thunder Child II left Boston and headed to New York - with the ship been followed and harassed by Martian Flying Machines near Rhode Island, which appeared to eventually give up. Captain Wodensen showed notable concern about what was going on, praying that God was on humanity's side, while the crew were kept on high alert for the rest of the voyage. When the ship reached New York, the Martians had launched a full-scale assault on the city using their Fighting and Flying machines; with A.R.E.S base under heavy fire. Giving his orders, Captain Wodensen commanded for the HMS Thunder Child II to sail up the East River at full speed in order to provide support. However, the Martians - having learned from their battle with the ship's predecessor 15 years earlier - had proceeded to line the East River with mines to try and stop any approaching ships. Despite this, and despite his crew's warnings regarding both the ship's proximity to the mines and the unknown destructive potential of the Martian weapons, Captain Wodensen ordered for the ship to fire sweepers to clear a path. After launch, the sweepers opened up and jettisoned a swarm of blades to hit the mines - with the explosion caused from the mines' detonation resulting in a wave that washed over the deck and nearly capsized the vessel. Although the ship remained afloat, the Captain - who had sustained an injury from the force of the wave crashing down on the ship - now realized that the explosion of the mines had revealed their arrival to the Martians, who proceeded to advance across the river from the remains of the Brooklyn Bridge towards the HMS Thunder Child II with an armada of Fighting and Flying Machines. The HMS Thunder Child II soon entered battle - firing all its weapons as it was set upon with a barrage of fire from the Flying Machines while the mass of Fighting Machines continued to advance towards them; the Flying Machines buzzing the ship like mosquitoes and blasting away with their heat rays as the crew-members valiantly fought on and returned fire with the ship's cannons; bringing down the majority of the Martian Flying Machines but suffering heavy damage from the perpetual onslaught. As the ship battled on and the crew were slain one by one, the Captain remembered what his father had told him as a child: : "Every element of his Majesty's war apparatus has a different effect on the enemy. Infantry is like a spear, stabbing away. Cavalry is like a speeding arrow. Artillery is like a sword, hacking off pieces of the enemy. The Navy, on the other hand, my son...We are like hammers! we smite the enemy with almighty blows!" Although Captain Wodensen admitted that he had once believed it to just be a charming story to entertain him as a child, the Captain stated he now understood what his father meant. Battered and bloodied and aware of his fate, the Captain made his way to his father's portrait and saluted it before taking back control of the critically damaged ship. Driving it forward at top speed, the HMS Thunder Child II smashed head on into the armada of fighting machines; smiting them with an almighty blow. However, the attack proved to be the HMS Thunder Child II's final act, as the impact shattered the vessel - breaking apart and sinking with the Fighting Machines to the bottom of the East River; sharing the fate of its predecessor from 15 years earlier. Despite the destruction of the HMS Thunder Child II, A.R.E.S would successfully repel the attack on New York and defeat the Martians; ending the Second War of the Worlds with a firm victory for humanity. Category:A.R.E.S Category:Human technology Category:Martian Technology Category:Vehicles Category:War of the Worlds Goliath